There have been provided a battery apparatus, and electronic equipment which has a battery attachment section to which the battery apparatus is attached, and operates by power supplied from the battery apparatus (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Publication No. 2508447).
If the electronic equipment is to be used by attaching the battery apparatus thereto, it is required that a battery apparatus having a capacity suitable for a current to be consumed by the electronic equipment be attached to the electronic equipment. Therefore, it is preferable to permit attachment of only a battery apparatus having a suitable capacity, to the battery attachment section, and not to permit attachment of a battery apparatus not having a suitable capacity.
Thus, conventionally, e.g., around the middle of an attachment surface of the battery attachment section of the electronic equipment, a projection (recess) is provided which projects outward from the attachment surface, and in a bottom surface of the battery apparatus which faces the above-mentioned attachment surface, a recess (projection) is also provided so as to be hollowed out from the bottom surface of the battery apparatus. And it is configured such that only when the projection and the recess match, attachment of the battery apparatus to the attachment section is permitted, and such that when they do not match, attachment of the battery apparatus to the battery attachment section is prohibited (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Publication No. 3427900).
Further, a battery charger as electronic equipment for charging the battery apparatus needs to set proper charging current values for supply to a plurality of types of battery apparatus, each having a different characteristic (capacity, suitable charging current, or the like). Thus, e.g., a switch for switching charging current values is provided on the battery charger, and a user operates the switch according to the battery apparatus.
However, if the recess is provided around the middle of the attachment surface or the bottom surface of the battery apparatus or the electronic equipment, due to the fact that substrates and electronic components are disposed around the middle of the attachment surface and the bottom surface, the size of the battery apparatus or the electronic equipment must be increased, depending on the depth of the recess, and this configuration has been disadvantageous in miniaturizing the battery apparatus and the electronic equipment.
Further, in the case where the switch for switching charging currents is provided on the battery charger, the user must operate the switch for each different characteristic of the battery apparatus, and this configuration has been disadvantageous in improving their operability. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a battery apparatus and electronic equipment, in which the battery apparatus having a characteristic compatible with the electronic equipment can be suitably attached to the electronic equipment, and which are advantageous in miniaturizing themselves and improving their operability.
Further, another object of the present invention is to provide electronic equipment which can operate suitably according to a characteristic of a battery apparatus, and which is advantageous in enhancing its usability.